Stay With Me
by ShellSueD
Summary: After several unexpected late night visits from his favorite Bounty Hunter, Ranger begins to question Stephanie's behavior.


_JE owns the rights to anything familiar - thanks to alix33 for the beta work_

_**This is for Margaret who asked for a story inspired by the song Stay With Me by Sam Smith...I don't think this really follows the song at all but the title is definitely there, so I hope you like it anyway, Ms. Margaret.**_

_Also, a shout out to **LilyGhost** who did a similar story a few weeks ago inspired by the same song- hers is awesome, by the way, and you should go read it if you haven't. It's called, "No Reason To Run" :)_

* * *

I hadn't exactly been neat in my rush to get Stephanie out of the outfit that had given me an instant hard-on so I was watching through half opened eyes as she attempted to gather her clothes from various spots around my bedroom floor.

She'd arrived at my door after a night out dancing at a new club with Lula, and I briefly wondered how she got out of there without being sexually assaulted because I couldn't stop myself from putting my hands all over her.

The high-heeled leather boots stopped at just above her knee, the silky black skirt fell to mid thigh and the red halter top…the shimmering, _backless_ red halter top that was open on the sides and secured by a tie around her neck, was practically begging me to slide my hands through and explore her unsupported breasts.

Which I did. _Repeatedly.__  
_  
Because I'd answered the door wearing only a pair of black cargos, Stephanie's hands were as busy as mine, touching every part of my skin she could reach so by the time we made it to the bedroom, I was in a desperate state.

Getting inside her was the only goal, and the quicker the better.

I kicked off my pants, yanked down the skirt, tore the panties away and sank into her blissfully tight heat before her back even hit the mattress.

I didn't remove the halter top or her boots until the second round.

Having already found and donned the skirt and boots and after tossing her ruined panties away, it was the halter she was looking for now and I was pretty sure it had sailed behind the armchair in the corner but I kept my silent vigil from the bed.

After getting on her hands and knees to scour the carpet, she came back to her feet with the top in her hand and I almost let out a sigh of disappointment. I'd been hoping she wouldn't find the shirt and would have to wake me to help her, which of course I would, after dragging her back to bed and having her again. And maybe once more after that.

But really, I just wanted her to stay with me, round three and four or not. I _always_ wanted her to stay, and yet I remained silent as she dressed and left in the middle of the night. This had been her M.O. for the past couple of weeks – showing up unannounced, completely rocking my world - and then sneaking out before the sunrise. It was very un-Stephanie like behavior and if I wasn't being selfish and enjoying every single second of _whatever_ this was, I would have tried to figure out why she was acting like, well, _me._

I'd always told her that she was welcome in my bed anytime, but eventually, she'd have to leave it and lately Stephanie had taken it upon herself to follow those parameters to a tee. I couldn't see a downside, at least for me. She was giving me everything I wanted from her, no questions asked and no strings attached; how and why would I ever want to question her motivation?  
_  
__But I was._ And I was also questioning my own. It was wrong and I knew it and she was going to end up getting hurt if I didn't put a stop to it.

Stephanie slid on the top and tied it at her neck, hiding her beautiful breasts from my lustful gaze and I nearly opened my mouth, but she turned suddenly, as if she had felt my eyes on her. I closed them fully and kept my breathing even and several long moments went by while she thought she was watching me sleep. Finally, I felt her move and the energy that always seemed to fill the room when she was in it dissipated as she silently made her way out and to the door. When I heard it click closed behind her I swung my legs over the side of the bed and reached for the phone on the nightstand.

Junior was sitting monitor duty and when he answered my call I asked him to cut the elevator and the garage's cameras for ten minutes. Even though she wasn't aware of it, I wanted her to be able to make her escape in private. He never questioned me but Junior knew the drill by now, he'd been working the graveyard shift for the past three weeks.

I returned the receiver to its cradle and noted the time; 3:22. She always left around the same time every night; after three but before three thirty. Was that significant? Hell if I knew. I didn't know what she was thinking anymore. I ran my hand over my hair and exhaled a long breath, pondering what the fuck I was going to do. I needed to end it before she got too attached or before I said the wrong thing and screwed it up so she didn't even want to be friends anymore. I would get over the intimacy loss eventually but I couldn't bear it if she were to cut me off completely. Losing her in that way wasn't an option.

Sliding back between my sheets I rolled on my side and gathered the pillow she'd been using to my chest. It still smelled faintly of her shampoo and her favorite perfume and I breathed it in before closing my eyes. As I clutched the last thing she touched to my body and tried to go back to sleep, the thought that maybe Stephanie wasn't the only one in danger of getting too attached drifted through my mind.

Four hours later, after I'd locked away every moment of last night inside my internal vault, I entered my office to begin my day. I had a business to run and my personal shit was going to have to wait.

It was nearing ten when Cal ruined my plans completely. I'd just finished signing the payroll report when he knocked on my door.

"Hey," he greeted after I invited him inside my office.

"What is it Cal?" I didn't look up from the pile of paperwork I was trying to work through so I could get back out in the field where I belonged.

"I have a family emergency and have to leave town for a while."

I was perplexed about why he was coming to me because Tank handled all the scheduling so I told him that.

"Yeah I know. I talked to him already and he's taken me off the rotation for the next few days."

_Then why the fuck are we having this conversation? _That's what I was thinking but my mouth said, "I guess we're done here." I still hadn't looked at him but his next sentence jerked my head up sharply.

"Well, it's just…I promised Stephanie that I would help her bring in a skip today..."

I don't know what expression crossed my face but it made Cal retreat a step and his eyes widened in what might have been fear. "It's, ah, well it was supposed to be my day off anyway and I didn't think it was a big deal. She keeps getting the run around from this guy and said if she had someone more intimidating than Lula with her that maybe he'd be more cooperative…"

He was almost babbling, which was odd for Cal, so I cut him off before it got worse.

"What time are you meeting her?"

"I told her I'd pick her up at her place at eleven."

"I'll take care of it," I said curtly, hoping he would take it as the dismissal it was.

"Should I…"

"I'll handle it, Cal."

He nodded and backed out of my office, closing the door silently behind him.

I sat and stewed for a minute, wondering why I felt angry that she'd asked Cal for help and not me. She use to always come to me first and the only thing I could think of that made sense was she was trying to keep her distance so she could separate the sex from everything else. _Not gonna work, Babe._ All the more reason to stop the late night visits so we could go back to the way things were and not fuck up our friendship.

I finished a few more things before heading over to her apartment, taking a fleet vehicle because Stephanie's skips tended to end up covered in garbage… or worse and I'd just had the Cayenne detailed.

She came out of the lobby at exactly eleven and I was idling at the curb as she made her way over. She was dressed in head to toe black and the t-shirt had my logo embroidered over her left breast. When she got closer I realized it was one of mine and it made me smile, wondering when she'd taken it from my closet.

The passenger door opened and she slid into the seat without looking in my direction. I knew the second she realized it was me and not Cal because her body went entirely still. Slowly she brought her head around and after a beat, stated the obvious. "You're not Cal."

"True. He had an emergency. Is this a problem?"

"No," she answered just a little too quickly. "I, uh…I just don't want to take you away from something important to help me."

Not quite a lie, but not the whole truth either. She seemed uncomfortable; maybe being in this close proximity to me after one of our trysts was making her nervous. She usually did try to avoid me for a couple of days after…

"_You_ are important to me, Babe."_ When did she stop knowing that? _I really should have ended it right then, not liking the awkwardness I was feeling between us, but in full-on avoidance mode, she launched into a rundown of her skip before I could say anything else. I decided to let it go; we could deal with it when we were done working.

It took a couple of hours to locate the FTA and Stephanie kept it totally professional between us, being careful to not touch me in any capacity and she barely cracked a smile the whole time, even when I told the story about Lester and the pulled groin from a round in a sex swing with a stripper.

After we found her guy, it was a pretty quick takedown. Stephanie had been right about the intimidating factor. The guy nearly wet his pants when he saw me and then made the ill-advised decision to try and run. I stuck out a foot and he fell on his face. Stephanie moved fast and had him cuffed a second after he hit the ground. She had one knee on his back, holding him in place, and looked up at me with a grin on her face. The first real one of the day.

We dropped him off at the police station so she could get her body receipt and I looped an arm around her neck as we walked back to the car. "You did well today, Babe. Proud of you." I pulled her close and pressed my lips to her temple. I expected her to pull away since she'd been evading my hands all day, but she surprised me by snaking her arm around my waist and holding on tight as we made our way to the SUV. She probably didn't even realize she'd let her guard down.

"It's easy when I have the pants wetting _Ranger_ stare backing me up. It's not a big bounty but I'll make sure Connie cuts you a check for half."

"I didn't do anything, Steph. The money is yours."

I could tell she wanted to argue, but she was also mentally calculating the bills she had to pay. "But..."

"No buts. And I'll just endorse the check back to you if you try so drop it."

"Okay," she reluctantly agreed. "Maybe it would help if you teach me how to do that stare."

"And give up my edge? I don't think so, Babe." She flashed me all her teeth and I couldn't have stopped myself from kissing her if I wanted to.

I meant it to be quick and chaste but that never worked out well where Stephanie was concerned. Before I knew it I had her pressed into the passenger door of the car and was teasing her tongue into an erotic dance that had us both wishing we were somewhere private.

That fact was drilled home by the muttered, "Get a room," that Carl Costanza tossed out as he passed by on the way into the station. It broke the spell and I separated our lips. I still had her pinned to the door and held her gaze as we settled our slightly labored breaths.

"We need to talk," I told her. "Let's go get lunch."

Stephanie put her walls back up and was shaking her head before I even finished the sentence. "Um, no, I can't. I promised I'd go dress shopping with Val. I have to meet her…soon." _ Lie. _ But I let it slide.

"Dinner then. My place at seven."

"Oh um…" I'd sprung that one on her before she could come up with a plausible story.

"Seven, Stephanie." I let her go and opened the car door for her. She climbed into the seat and I knew she was trying to fabricate another lie while I went around to the driver's side. By the time I got the door open, she was talking.

"Thanks for the offer, but I really shouldn't. My Mother's expecting me at six. I already told her I'd be there. It's Friday; I always have dinner at my…"

I slid behind the wheel and she trailed off at my raised eyebrow. "I'm sure you can skip one night of Plum craziness, Steph." I used the tone that meant I wasn't in the mood to be contradicted and it seemed to work. She was quiet the rest of the way to her apartment and when I dropped her off and reminder her again of the time I expected her, she nodded her head and then disappeared inside the lobby.

I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to finish paperwork but kept rehearsing what I should say to her in my head and didn't get much accomplished. By the time she arrived I'd run through the whole gamut, from _'it's not you, it's me'_ to _'let's just be friends with no benefits'_ and it was all crap. And it didn't matter anyway because every single argument I tried flew out of my head the second I opened the door.

The outfit was the complete opposite to the one the night before and I suspected she knew this was the end of the sexual part of our relationship and dressed accordingly. The jeans were old and worn and one knee was torn out but they fit her like a glove, accentuating the slight flare of her hips and the tautness of her butt, which I couldn't help but admire on our way to the dining table. She was wearing a thin, button up sweater in the lightest shade of blue which didn't show an ounce of flesh, and on her feet were a pair of flat, slip-on sandals. Her hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail and the only make-up I could detect was a subtle hint of pink lip gloss.

This was not the seductress Stephanie I'd become accustomed to the past few weeks yet I wanted nothing more than to scoop her in my arms and take her to bed. I thought it was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen her wear.

It was honest and real and _that_ was the Stephanie I wanted in my life.

"We're eating at the table?" Her eyes were wide and I knew she was remembering another time we spent at the table. It hadn't involved food of any kind.

"I've heard it's what people do," I quipped, which got me the smile I was hoping for.

"Most people, just not usually you." She had me there; I can count on one hand the number of times I'd eaten at the table.

"I like to experiment with normalcy from time to time. Sit." I pulled out a chair for her and she gave me a skeptical look but obeyed my command.

"How was dress shopping?" I queried as I took the seat at the head of the table. _Was I trying to make small talk?_ From the look on Stephanie's face I was, and it was awkward.

She cleared her throat before answering. "Oh, it was good. Val got a dress for a bachelorette party next weekend and I'm going to have to sell one of my kidneys to pay my Macy's bill next month, but I got a dress for Connie's wedding."

My mind immediately went to fun and naughty places, trying to imagine what type of dress and how difficult it would be to remove.

"You can work some shifts here if you need money, Babe," I offered, while I got my brain out of the gutter. "I'll need a body to fill in for Bones while he and Connie are on their honeymoon."

Her lips pressed together in a fine line and I knew she would say no. It wouldn't fit in with her attempt to keep an emotional distance from me. She surprised me by changing the subject instead. "What's for dinner? It smells great."

A subject change was usually in _my _playbook when I wanted to avoid a topic and I almost admired her tactic until I remembered how she was trying to be like me. One of me was probably already too many and it would be much better for both of us if she would just be who she is.

I lifted one of the silver domes off the trays Ella left and watched Stephanie's eyes go wide once again. "Roasted chicken and vegetables," I announced. The veggies were mostly for me but I knew the chicken was one of her favorites. "This one has mashed potatoes and grilled yams." Again, the yams were for me. "And," I lifted the lid of the final tray with a flourish, "pineapple upside-down cake."

Stephanie was staring at me with an unreadable expression and I suddenly had the feeling I'd made a mistake.

"You had Ella make my favorite things." It wasn't a question but I nodded anyway, slowly lowering the lid back over the cake. "For me? You did this for me?"

"Yes, I answered slowly, unsure if that was the right response. "I didn't want you to miss out on..."

I didn't get to finish that thought because Stephanie was on her feet and burying her hands in my hair as she covered my mouth with her soft, soft lips.

It wasn't the reaction I was expecting but I couldn't make myself offer up a complaint. When I finally thought I could pull myself out of the fog she'd created with her intoxicating kisses, Stephanie was tugging me to the bedroom and tugging at the button holding my pants closed.

_One more time won't change anything and we can talk later_, I resolutely told myself as she lowered her body onto mine…

The sound of her stubbing her toe on the corner of my bed frame woke me from a dreamless sleep. I cut my eyes to the clock and saw it was half past three.

She was gathering her clothes and I silently cursed myself for letting this happen again. "Stephanie." My voice was low but it was quiet in the room so I knew she'd hear it. Her body froze as she clutched her sweater to her chest. She didn't respond and I knew we were going to have to have the talk right then.

But this is what I said, surprising us both, "Stay with me."

I think her question was also a surprise. "For how long?"

_Don't do this. You like your life, you like the freedom and the flexibility and the rush of danger every time you leave the building with two guns and a knife strapped to your body. You don't need someone wondering where you are and who you're with and when or if you're coming home. You don't need a relationship and you certainly don't want one either.__  
_  
Except I did, with Stephanie. I wanted to eat with her at that table every night and talk to her about her day. I wanted her in my bed every night and by my side every day. I wanted her, _all _of her and if I didn't tell her now she would walk out the door and I couldn't watch her do that again.

"Would it completely freak you out if I said forever?"

The room was dimly lit, only a faint glow from the moonlight shining in the window but I could see the incredulous expression on her face.

"_Yes._ What…when did this happen?"

"I'm not sure, when did it happen for you?" Because I knew it had. We'd been denying it for a very long time but it had been there, waiting for us to be on the same page.

"I don't know...since we met? What are we going to do about it?"

"Well for starters, you can get back in this bed and stay with me, at least until the sun rises, and then we can go from there." I held out my hand and there was no hesitation on her part. As soon as I felt her touch, I pulled her on top of me and wrapped her in my arms.

Stephanie snuggled into my chest and buried her face in my neck. "I didn't want to leave," she confessed. "I _never_ want to leave but…"

"But I told you that's all I wanted."

"Yes and I…I wanted whatever you were willing to offer but I didn't realize how _difficult_ it was going to be."

"Yeah, I know," I said, squeezing her tighter to me.

"You do?"

"Yes. I wanted to ask you to stay every time you snuck out of here at," I glanced at the clock, "you're a little behind schedule today."

"Dammit, Ranger!" She lifted off my chest to give me an annoyed glare. "You were awake every time?"

"_Babe._ Why three?"

"I guess I should have known better than to think you wouldn't notice. I thought three was early enough that you would still be asleep and late enough that the hallways would be mostly empty and less people would see me sneaking out."

"The logic is flawed, but I get it." I pulled her face to mine and kissed her until she melted into my arms again.

"Are we really going to do this? An all-in, no doubt about it _relationship_?"

"Yep. Are you ready for it, Babe?"

A smile started at the corners of her lips and then she swung her leg over mine and pulled herself up until she was straddling my hips. "I think we're both ready."

I didn't know how we were going to make it work; there would have to be a lot of compromising on both sides, but the next time I opened my eyes, the sun was shining in through the window and Stephanie was still in my arms, holding on to me tightly.

And because I'd finally asked her to stay, I knew we'd find a way.


End file.
